Are you looking to gain mass quickly? Investing in pre-workout powders may be just what you need to pump those muscles up and get a sculpted body. Never worry about being unkempt again.

As a health fitness enthusiast, I have put years of research into the field. Optimizing my own weight-loss with a healthier, cleaner lifestyle helped change my life and I want to offer that experience to other guys. Whether you’re looking to shed fat, gain muscle or lean out muscle, pre-workout powders can help deliver the results you want. Plus, it’s one of the best gifts for men as well.

Anytime I wanted to put on a few more pounds of muscle in only a few weeks, I’ve always used a pre-workout powder. The supplement really does have a lot of benefits, including packing on muscle, giving you a more rigorous workout and enhancing recovery times that leave you virtually sore-free.

This guide was designed specifically for guys looking to add a little more pump into their workout and recover quicker from their workout. You don’t have to be a bodybuilder or competitive athlete to use pre-workout powders either. These are also great for the minimalist just looking to get a better workout.

What are the Benefits of Pre-Workout Powders?

There are many benefits associated with pre-workout powders. Taking all the above information the following benefits are prevalent with long-term use of these powders:

Help Build Muscle

Pre-workouts have a ton of important nutrition that can boost and synthesize your muscle. When you’re getting into your workout, you want to feel the burn and intensity of your workout. You aren’t there to play games; you are there to get results! Pre-workout powders can help you build muscle quickly and can continuously invigorate your workout, giving you that intense feeling every workout.

The most beneficial muscle-building compound in a PWO is the abundance of BCAA’s. Any pre-workout worthy of being mentioned will have BCAA’s to increase muscle protein synthesis (MPS).

If your goal is to build muscle, be sure to invest in a pre-workout powder that has the Creatine in it. While one without the Creatine in it will still help build muscle, it just isn’t going to be as effective as one with the Creatine. This is a huge building block, like explained. So keep that in mind while shopping for your pre-workout powder.

Helps You Lose Fat

Any supplement that promotes fat loss is worth having in your artillery. Regardless of your fitness goals, fat loss is crucial in building gains, strengthening and toning. Pre-workout powders influence water retention and increase your metabolism, which will help shed the last few pounds.

Even during your bulking season, it’s important to pack on solid, lean muscle. By removing the water from the sheets of muscle, your body will naturally have leaner muscle. Leaner muscle also means increased strength. You don’t want massive muscle gains without matched massive strength gains.

Keep this in mind with your diet as well. Sodium, caffeine and other products are great for reducing your cell’s ability to

Increase Your Pumps Per Set

Sculpting compounds will help increase the overall pump in all muscle areas. When your muscles are at rest, you still want the muscle to be prominent. Pre-workout powders increase your pump mostly by releasing nitric oxide to your muscles, which provide energy for more powerful workouts. This is what gives the pump in your muscles.

Enhance Your Power, Energy and Focus

Pre-workouts do more than just help you with gains, though. They also help predominately with increasing strength, energy and focus as well. Each compound works together to stimulate your muscles, increase the limit and force of your workout and help you concentrate on each set.

Recovery rates will be quicker and you will find yourself being able to breeze through sets with fewer rest times between each one – creating more of a High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session to help with even more gains.

Top 4 Best Pre-Workout Powders in 2018

So now that you understand the importance of pre-workout supplements in your workout routine, it’s time to start shopping for one that best fits you. Here are four top-rated pre-workout powders to start you off with that most reviewers of the product have deemed “best of” for this category.

Jyms’ Pre Jym supplement powder is a top contender in the pre-workout product industry. Available in three flavors (cherry limeade, orange mango and raspberry lemonade), the Pre Jym supplement is a tasty pre-workout powder. Some pre-workouts are unpalatable, so this is a standout feature for this. They are also famous for their ingredients and claiming to not have a “property blend” but rather complexes. Either way, it tastes and works great.

Cellulors’ C4 has been a huge hit for years now. While many other brands have come and gone, this has remained a top-rated pre-workout supplement amongst consumers and fitness professionals. Featuring three flavors, including Fruit Punch, Icy Blue Razz and Pink Lemonade, each one has been reviewed well by consumers. It’s cheaper for more servings versus others like Jym Pre Jym.

While its’ name might be a handful to say, the product does speak for itself after you try it. Filled with an amazing property blend, ENGN pre-workout powder will get you the gains you want quicker than ever. This product also features three flavors like its competitors, including Blue Raz, Fruit Punch and Green Apple. Try all three in their assorted variety pack to find the flavor that best fits your palate.

The name alone brings in attention. However, it’s the product itself that keeps consumers coming back for more. Packed with a very potent active blend, this pre-workout powder definitely steps out of the crowd and into the spotlight. Another great feature is that it features 9 flavors. That’s more than any other company out there. The flavors include Blue Razz, Fruit Punch, Green Apple, Berry Blast, Orange Burst, Mango Passion Fruit, Cotton Candy, Cherry Bomb and Watermelon. Try them all if you can.

Pre-Workout Powders at a Glance

So to introduce pre-workout powders, it’s important to know what the key benefits are from it. That’s why you came here, right? With so many compounds, complexes and blends, PWO powders offer you a plethora of effects that can range from mentally, emotionally to physically positive benefits.

Here is what it can do for you:

Improve Fat Loss;

Increase muscle gains and pumps;

Help restore muscle tissue by promoting cell regeneration; and

Increase overall stamina and performance during workouts and competitions.

Any guy interested in increasing his workout regimen will find this product appealing and can find results in the product.

When shopping for a PWO, you will find two categories:

Pre-workout powders with Creatine; and

Pre-workout powders without Creatine.

What Are Pre-Workout Powders with Creatine?

A pre-workout powder with Creatine is simply explained as having a majority of its own property blend with the addition of a Creatine supplement. This supplement tends to be a hybrid creation like Creatine HCL or similar compound.

Creatine is a slow-digesting, ban-free substance that helps with pushing your body’s pumps and gains. It’s often used by people who are on their “bulking” season to help them with providing energy to their cells quicker – hence giving them the opportunity to recover during breaks, giving them added pumps per set.

Those who are on “Cutting” season should avoid a pre-workout with Creatine and should go with one that only has a property blend to help with revitalizing the muscles.

What Are Pre-Workout Powders Without Creatine?

Both pre-workout powders have similar, generalized property blends that are posted on the labels. Most of the blends in a pre-workout will group the ingredients together and put a value of them combined. This keeps their portion sizes of each ingredient a secret to only the manufacturer. However, there is a lot known about each active ingredient commonly found in a property blend.

Those looking solely for a pre-workout that works well with their cutting season, then one without Creatine will best suit your needs and will help promote lean muscle versus mass.

Property Blends in Pre-Workout Supplements Magnified

Each manufacturer portions out their property blend differently, varying on what they feel is vital to the blend and what should be prevalent over others. However, there are generally certain ingredients that remain the same on most products, with only two or three being different from their competitors.

Knowing the benefits of what is in your pre-workout powder will give you more insight on why it is important to take it and how it can truly help you gain mass, build strength and increase stamina.

Here is a list of ingredients that you can find in most pre-workout powders:

Creatine Complex

If you’re invested in a pre-workout for bulking, it will have a Creatine Complex featuring a hybrid form of the Creatine to help promote nitrogen oxide in your muscles. The reaction that forms will help your muscles strengthen quicker and help build size quicker.

Amino Acids Complex (BCAA’s)

Properly known as Branched Chain Amino Acids, or BCAAs for short, this often refers to three significant amino acids:

Leucine

Isoleucine

Valine

When ingested, these micronutrients come alive in your body and help synthesize muscle protein and promote muscle growth. They don’t stop there, though.

BCAA’s in pre-workout supplements are often “felt” by people and can cause a tingling or burning sensation. When you feel this, it is the BCAAs synthesizing your muscles and transporting fluids and minerals to them at a heightened pace.

This helps support an active metabolism, which promotes fat loss and promotes energy throughout the workout consistently.

Even after a workout regimen, BCAAs are still working on muscle synthesizing, reducing your recovery time afterward dramatically. Guys looking something that will help ease the pain, then these are a must-have in a pre-workout supplement.

Vitamin B12 – This is a key vitamin in any diet. This vitamin helps the function of several body functions but is also most known for its ability to combat fatigue and promote more energy.

Niacin – Vitamin B3, but always referred to as niacin, helps release energy into your body to give you a more invigorating workout.

Often not, these are the only three part of the Vitamin-B Complex offered in pre-workout supplements, as they are the most beneficial for promoting quicker gains.

Stimulant Complex

Stimulant complexes are compounds and ingredients that help with exclusively promoting energy and stimulating your muscles to perform quicker and harder. There are usually three commonly found in pre-workout supplements to help with stimulating your cells, metabolism and heart rate.

Caffeine

Many studies have been done on caffeine and it is one of the best tested ergogenic aids. Basically, this means that it is a substance that enhances a person’s overall recovery, product and energy use with use. Although caffeine is a diuretic (retains water), when consumed in small doses like found in a pre-workout has minimal ill-effects.

Caffeine is shown to increase performance by 12-percent when taken.

Betaine

Known for being a methyl donor (a molecule that can transfer a methyl group to another molecule), betaine’s most critical role is seen with helping potential muscle growth and strength gains. Increasing these significantly, it also helps with supporting a positive mood by raising S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) levels.

Beta-Alanine

Lastly, we have the beta-alanine, which is extremely beneficial with the blend of a pre-workout powder. Beta-alanine is known for:

Increasing your workout capacity to help with training longer and harder;

Boosting overall aerobic endurance (cardio and weight training);

Promotes muscle mass synthesis;

Delivering an explosive wave of strength increase during workouts to help with lifting heavier and more.

Beta-alanine creates an explosive amount of results during a workout when it’s released. Any person looking for a prime ingredient in their pre-workout supplement, this is it.

Endurance Complex

The next “complex” found in a pre-workout powder is the endurance complex. This usually features creatine (previously discussed) and Citrulline.

Citrulline

When it comes to boosting cell protein regeneration, citrulline is a common supplement used for its effectiveness in just this. Citrulline helps with releasing nitric oxide into protein cells. This takes the protein cell and synthesizes it with more energy.

Performance increases have been shown in studies performed across the nation by fitness professionals.

Pump Complex

When gaining mass, it’s important to have a pump supplement to help with sculpting your bodies and providing a better pump while working out. Most pre-workout powders will contain the following ingredients to help increase pump:

L-Arginine

The body doesn’t naturally produce L-arginine and it is a semi-important essential amino acid that acts as a building block of protein. What this means for an intense workout program is it helps the body signal muscle cells and creates that “pump” action every guy likes to have during his workout.

This also helps with enhancing the fat metabolism, which helps with building leaner muscle, keeping the pump in your muscles. It also stimulates muscle growth in general and removes water from under the skin to give a more sculpted and bulk look.

AKG

AKG is a simple, yet vital, nutrient that helps with cell growth by synthesizing the cells and protecting the heart from stress. This helps with circulation during workouts and promotes better reps per set.

L-Histidine

L-Histidine, known as Carnosine, plays a vital role in an athletes’ or bodybuilders’ ability to perform better during competitions and workouts. With greater stress on your skeletal muscle, Carnosine helps with increasing skeletal structure support.

In addition, Carnosine helps lower pH levels by eliminating lactic acid that is produced from stress on your muscles. By removing high levels of lactic acid, weightlifters and athletes avoid feeling that “burning” sensation from working out and can maximize their strength and performance during the workout.

Side Effects Associated with PWO Powders

Just like any other product, pre-workout powders can be associated with side effects. Although none are fatal, it’s important that you never take more than recommended on the label of your pre-workout supplement. Too much of a good thing is never advisable.

Dehydration

A common side effect when taking too much of a pre-workout supplement is dehydration. It’s important to drink plenty of fluids, especially if you are physically active. Taking a pre-workout when you’re already dehydrated can push your body over the limit and cause you to faint. There are several diuretics in pre-workout powders that can absorb water and cause your body to go into overdrive.

Dizziness

Another common side effect, especially for first-time users, is dizziness. If you feel light-headed, sit down for a second and take a minute to gather yourself. The feeling will pass soon. This is common because the rush of nutrients causes your blood to circulate quicker and will cause your body to be briefly fatigued.

Headaches

This is a rare side effect but can occur occasionally in some people. This can be a sign of dehydration, so try to drink more water after taking the pre-workout supplement. If headaches occur with each use, switch to a different product or discontinue use altogether.

Nausea and Vomiting

Nausea is a common side effect and most experience this feeling initially. Drinking plenty of water will help the feeling pass quicker. However, if you are prone to getting nauseous for the first few minutes, make sure to take the pre-workout while sitting down and wait for the feeling to pass. Too much movement can cause vomiting for weaker stomachs.

Anxiety and Sleeplessness

Caffeine and other energy boosters are inside of pre-workout supplements. Keep this is mind before taking them. Take this only when you have over 6 hours before you are intending to sleep. Taking later in the day can cause sleeplessness.

Be mindful of caffeine levels throughout the day. Too much coffee or tea alongside this pre-workout can cause jitters and anxiety in people with low caffeine tolerance.

Tingling and Burning Sensation Throughout the Body

This is nothing at all to worry about. It may throw you off at first when you take the supplement, but the feeling will eventually pass once you start working out and get your blood pumping. The active ingredients in the pre-workout are circulating throughout the blood and are working on building your body up.

This is definitely the most common side effect, and you will eventually get used to the feeling after a while of taking it. Five minutes into my workout, I find the feeling does pass.

Cardiac Issues

High dosages of pre-workout supplements can cause cardiac issues such as a heart murmur (temporarily usually). This is caused by too much caffeine, so avoid taking more than the recommended daily value of the intended pre-workout supplement.

If you feel any symptoms associated with your heart, stop the use of the pre-workout and consult a physician. It’s important that you keep ahead of your health and you don’t damage your organs. Afterward, consult with your doctor on why this happened and if using a pre-workout supplement is the right move for you and your general health.

When Should I Take a Pre-Workout Supplement?

Follow these tips to help you take your pre-workout powder at the right time:

Use the pre-workout supplement approximately 30 to 60 minutes prior to a workout. This helps many of those side effects (explained above) pass and gets your body ready for a rigorous workout. Like anything, you don’t want to wait too long either because many of the active ingredients will run out of your system within two or three hours after taking it.

Mix the powder with 16 ounces of water per full-leveled scoop. Follow the label instructions and drink the pre-workout supplement. Follow-up with another bottle of water. Try to finish another 16 ounces of water before starting your workout. Staying well hydrated is imperative.

Use a two-weeks-on and two-weeks off approach to your pre-workout powder. If you take anything too often, your body naturally becomes immune to it. To maximize your long-term goals for gaining and sculpting your body, take the pre-workout for two weeks and then take off for the next two weeks. Rinse and repeat. This helps prevent your body from adjusting to the supplement and it maximizes the muscle gain.

Never take too much of the pre-workout powder. This cannot be stressed enough! Start off with 1/2 the serving size and work your way up to a full serving to see how your body reacts to the supplement.

How Can I Enhance My Results With My Pre-Workout Powder?

In addition to taking your pre-workout, there are several other things you can do in addition to taking this powder to enhance your overall results with gaining mass.

Eat a Clean, Healthy Diet

No matter how many supplements you take, you will never get the results you want with quick gains if you aren’t being mindful about what you’re consuming. Many men suffer from plateaus in their gains due to their lack of knowledge in the kitchen. Knowing your carb-fat-protein ratio is imperative along with calorie consumption to help maximize your results.

If you’re interested in bulking your body, your diet should consist of more carbohydrates over fats. Thus, your diet will change significantly if you go from bulking to cutting, where you are turning your newly acquired mass into lean muscle. Lean muscle involves eating fewer carbohydrates and eating more protein and fats.

After getting the results from a pre-workout, many guys keep their bodies in shape by simply eating healthy, clean foods and working out a few times a week.

Have a Workout Program Modified to Your Needs and Goals

Results vary from person-to-person on pre-workouts varying on what their goals are and how they plan to achieve them. Having a rigorous workout will maximize your results, no doubt. But, if you plan your workout correctly, your results guarantee to show in the areas you’re bulking.

Take time to research a few fitness programs such as Insanity or P90X to see if they fit your busy schedule.

Consider Everything a Permanent Lifestyle Change

Never think short-term with fitness.

If you want mass gains, a sculpted body and great endurance to last, you must always keep your thoughts on the long-term plan. Everything you do needs to be a permanent lifestyle change. If you don’t think of it as a permanent change, you can quickly lose the results that you so worked so difficult to get.

A pre-workout powder can help you get results, but it cannot help you keep them unless you initiate lifestyle changes.

Consider Using Two Pre-Workout Supplements

Alternate between two PWOs to prevent your body from adjusting to the PWO. You can alternate between two brands, this way you are always providing change to your body and giving it slightly different variations of properties.

Do Pre-Workout Supplements Really Work?

Yes, these products actually do work. I have seen proven results using this.

This consists of “off-periods” (not using the pre-workout supplement), where I would log how I felt after a workout and throughout the day. I then follow up, doing an “on-period” (using the PWO), recording the same information in a log. It was important for me to know whether these products were worthwhile (and if this should be something I would recommend to other guys looking to get results from their workout).

Overall, my results when I was taking the pre-workout formula were far more beneficial than when I was off the pre-workout supplement. The energy boost works really well, and I felt it throughout the entire workout.

Soreness decreased significantly, so it allows me to push more power throughout my workout. This is important for any guy, so it is a highly recommended addition to your workout.

Always Try a Pre-Workout Powder Offered in a Small Variety Pack

In order to find the pre-workout that not only works, it is also pretty easy to take down, variety packs are the way to go.

Most variety packs offer only one serving of each flavor. This allows you to get a feel for the product and also the different flavors they offer (this way you can avoid spending a ton of money on awful flavors or poor quality products). Even if you feel one works really well, it can still be good to explore a bit to see if you can find one that works even better.

As a person who has test pre-workout supplements and still uses them, I believe that you can truly transform your life with these products and get the results you want from your workout.

Use this guide to help navigate through your decision on which one you should take and find yourself at a new height with your fitness.

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Richie is a copywriting and DIY guru. Creating a copywriting business while only 17, Richie has always focused his life on self-improvement to achieve new heights in both his life and business. Seven years later, he now uses his knowledge and experience and shares it with others through his writing.